Gender and Sexuality as a Psychosocial Issue

Definition of Terms
 Psychosocial- refers to the interaction between psychological and social elements.
 Psychosocial issues - are wants and concerns related to one or more of the
psychosocial dimensions.

In previous sessions, we discussed about the biological dimension of sexuality. We learned that
the human person has biological mechanisms for sexual growth and reproduction, and that
depending on sex, these mechanisms differ. At the beginning of this text book, we also
emphasized that these reproductive mechanisms are interpreted by societies, thereby; creating
differentiated social standards for behavior and expectations.

For instance, since the human female is capable of bearing a child, the society interprets this
capacity as associated to womanhood, and thus, sets fulfillment of reproductive role as an
expectation among women. On the other hand, since the human male does not have the
capability to bear the child but has a relatively larger muscular-skeletal frame, the society
expects the human male to perform productive role and associates this role to men.

However, while there are distinct physiological differences, much of the capabilities, except
those involved in reproduction, can actually be performed by either sexes. Both women and
men can perform child-rearing roles. Both can also engage and succeed in the world of work. In
many cases, the limits are only set by social expectations.
These scenarios only exemplify that much about gender and sexuality is not only biological and
physiological but also psychological and social. This perspective of exploring and understanding
human sexuality in the lens of psychological social processes is referred to as psychosocial
perspective.

What Does Psychosocial Mean?

The term “psychosocial” is an encompassing term. It is comprised by two primary aspects:

psychological and social. There are myriad of ways in defining these two terms but in essence,
psychological pertains to anything associated with mental process and behavior, while social
pertains to anything associated with human relationships, connection, and interaction.

The psychological aspect of gender and sexuality anchors itself on the field of psychology.
Psychology is a field of science which concerns how people think and feel and how thoughts
and feelings interact and lead to behavior. There are three primary psychological domains:
affect, behavior and cognition. Affect or the affective domain pertains to people’s emotions and
feelings. Behavior or the behavioral domain pertains to people’s actions – both observable
(overt) or not readily observable (covert). Cognition or cognitive domain pertains to people’s
thought processes such as memory, perception, and information-processing. Hence, to say that
gender and sexuality have a psychological dimension is to note that our sexual behaviors, as
well as gender-related behaviors, originate from what we sense, think, and feel.
On the other hand, the social aspect of gender and sexuality primarily anchors itself on the field
of sociology and allied fields such as social psychology. In essence, sociology is a field of
science which concerns itself with the human person’s realities and experiences as part of
groups and institutions, and the dynamics of human relationship with them.

Understanding the Psychosocial Dimension

There are many ways through which the psychosocial dimension of gender and sexuality can be
understood and explained. Our experience of gender and sexuality is generally a relational
experience. It is relational because while as individuals, we have our own affect, cognition and
behavior to be aware of, we also viewing ourselves in relation to others who also have their own
personal preoccupations. There are some elements of our gendered self which are best viewed
in an ecological context – that is, in the circumstances in our physical and social environment.
Awareness
At the front of our experience as gendered beings is awareness. In simpler terms, awareness is
our conscious understanding of something. As individuals, we are in constant process towards
self-awareness. Who and what am I? What do I like/dislike? What are my strengths and
weakness? What motivates me? What are my aspirations? We are in an endless process of
asking and trying to understand. In the context of gender and sexuality, we ask: What am I
physiologically? Am I happy with what I am? How do I genuinely see myself? How do I feel
about myself as a sexual being? Is there anything good I should do?
But then again, we are not isolated in a vacuum. We are social beings. We live our lives in
relation to others. Hence, as we try to understand ourselves more, we are also in a constant
process towards other – awareness that, understands others: What are the other’s motivations,
preferences, and aspirations? Where I am positioned in her or his life, vis-à-vis where is s/he
positioned in my life? How different and or similar am I and other?

Intimacy and relationship

In certain situations, when two people recognize and become aware of each other, they decide
to keep close distance in each other's lives, share their personal bubbles, so to speak, and
allow frequency of interaction between them. This forges some form of human relationship a
bond formed between two or more people, manifested through communication and interaction.
These relationships may be in the form of family, friendships, romantic relationship, or others.
While in these relationships, we share resources and emotions, we, as individuals, constantly
aim to further understand our own selves as we also try to understand others and be
understood by them. This process of knowing others and allowing others to know us is intimacy.
As social beings, we also learn from our own experiences and from the lessons taught to us by
those who have come before us. How we behave in relation to other people, with due
consideration to social expectations related to our gender, and how we make choices to balance
out personal goals and social goals, might be passed on to us through education and other
cultural preoccupations. The process by which we learn cultural norms and traditions is referred
to as socialization. At the end of it all, as rational beings, we are also capable of making sense
of our experiences vis-à-vis the influences of our environments and integrate these
interpretations into our own choice.
Well-being as a Psychosocial Goal

The ultimate goal of understanding the psychosocial aspects of our experiences is well-being- a
state of satisfaction, meaning, and purpose. There are two sides to well-being. One is that kind
of well-being which is observed, outward, and can be evaluated through presence or absence of
particular elements in our environment. This is referred to as objective well-being. In the
aspect of gender and sexuality here are some of the questions to ask:

 Does the physical environment allow expression of diversity? Does the physical
infrastructure mitigate any possibility of abuse and violence related to gender?

 Are material resources (money, properties) equitably available to men, women, and
other people with different genders? Are these resources sufficient for them?

 Are there health systems which cater to gender-related needs? Are there wellness
programs that support women, men and people of different genders?

Another side of well-being is our personal experience of satisfaction, meaning, and purpose.
This is referred to as subjective well-being. It is subjective because it pertains to our own
appreciation of how well we are. Sometimes, even when the environment fully provides for all
our needs, we remain unsatisfied, and thus, having low sense of subjective well-being. There
are also moments where the environment has shortcomings, but we are at peace and satisfied
within. In a common term, the closes word to also mean subjective well-being is happiness.
Some of the question to ask are as follows:

 How far is your sense of satisfaction about the various areas of your life as a sexual
being?

 Is your purpose as a person clear to you and it not yet, what are you doing to clarify this
purpose?

Dimensions of Well-being
Based on what well-being means, we can see that there are various dimensions into it. The
following are just the primary dimensions of well-being which we must look into when trying to
understand the psychosocial condition of a person:

 physical- physical/biological health;

 emotional - positive feelings; mood stability;
 mental-clarity of mind; healthy thought process;
 material- available and adequate financial and other resources; and
 social - healthy and positive interaction and relationship with others.